Tea (rec.drink.tea) Discussion relating to tea, the world's second most consumed beverage (after water), made by infusing or boiling the leaves of the tea plant (C. sinensis or close relatives) in water.

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

Hello Tea Drinkers,

I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

http://www.SteepingPot.com

At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
and cooking with tea recipes.

As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
expire 06/15/2007.

I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

Happy Steeping!

Desirea
The Steeping Pot
www.SteepingPot.com

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories


I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
Tea's wording
exactly.

http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...ef07620232afdb

http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8

Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
If so , let us know.

cjteas

On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:
> Hello Tea Drinkers,
>
> I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
> The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:
>
> http://www.SteepingPot.com
>
> At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
> accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
> accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
> monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
> and cooking with tea recipes.
>
> As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
> with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
> enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
> expire 06/15/2007.
>
> I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.
>
> Happy Steeping!
>
> Desirea
> The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com



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Default spam again (was The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories)

Maybe it's time to revisit the group's charter... the current one is
pretty minimal:

http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/charter.html

If there's agreement from the group, I think it might make sense to
specifically limit commercial posts entirely, or at least clarify the
policy on commercial posts, so that we don't have any ambiguity w/r/t
posts like this, and the Art of Tea post.

w

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 16, 7:17 am, cheri j > wrote:
> I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
> Tea's wording
> exactly.
>
> http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...
>
> http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8
>
> Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
> If so , let us know.
>
> cjteas
>
> On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:
>
> > Hello Tea Drinkers,

>
> > I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
> > The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

>
> >http://www.SteepingPot.com

>
> > At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
> > accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
> > accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
> > monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
> > and cooking with tea recipes.

>
> > As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
> > with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
> > enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
> > expire 06/15/2007.

>
> > I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

>
> > Happy Steeping!

>
> > Desirea
> > The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com



This is not an extension of Adagio, but I'll cross post this on their
forum so they know about this. Good catch!

-Brent

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 16, 1:17 pm, cheri j > wrote:
> I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
> Tea's wording
> exactly.
>
> http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...
>
> http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8
>
> Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
> If so , let us know.
>
> cjteas
>
> On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hello Tea Drinkers,

>
> > I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
> > The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

>
> >http://www.SteepingPot.com

>
> > At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
> > accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
> > accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
> > monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
> > and cooking with tea recipes.

>
> > As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
> > with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
> > enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
> > expire 06/15/2007.

>
> > I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

>
> > Happy Steeping!

>
> > Desirea
> > The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com- Hide quoted text -

>
> - Show quoted text -


Adagio is one of our wholesale tea suppliers. That particular tea is
their tea, so you will see some similarities throughout the site. We
are adding more tea varieties every month from multiple suppliers, so
it's not an exact replica of their sites content.

Desirea



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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

I'm puzzled.........

This Steeping Pot message is clearly "commercial" and comes from
someone who has not to my knowledge ever before contributed to RFDT.
It's basically spam.

What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
charter, etc. The Steeping Pot's ad plus discount coupon offer seems a
tad "commercial" but has generated no comparable response. Am I
missing something about netiquette? Is there some personal background
about The`Art of Tea? Is the Steeping Pot ploy approved of by the
slammers of AoT?

I ask for two reasons. My first is that I had absolutely no problem
with the AoT announcement. I didn't see it as commercial but
informative. I immediately subscribed to the magazine, which arrived
today, and I am delighted by it -- I lack expert knowledge of puehrs
so for me it is very instructive. I do have problems with the SP
stuff, though. So what is the distinction that makes AoT out of order
but SP acceptable?

My second reason for raising the issue is a little more complex. It's
tea publications versus tea products. I welcome every single reference
to and, yes, selling message, about things worth reading about tea. I
don't know what's available -- such as AoT -- and am information-
eager. I do know where to go to find great products and don't need or
want PP type stuff interrupting the style and content of RFDT. So I'd
like to encourage pubs and discourage prods.

Anyway, to the Art of Tea folks my message is Thanks -- I love it.


On May 16, 1:17 pm, cheri j > wrote:

> I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
> Tea's wording
> exactly.
>
> http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...
>
> http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8
>
> Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
> If so , let us know.
>
> cjteas
>
> On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hello Tea Drinkers,

>
> > I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
> > The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

>
> >http://www.SteepingPot.com

>
> > At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
> > accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
> > accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
> > monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
> > and cooking with tea recipes.

>


> > As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
> > with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
> > enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
> > expire 06/15/2007.

>
> > I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

>
> > Happy Steeping!

>
> > Desirea
> > The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com- Hide quoted text -

>
> - Show quoted text -



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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 16, 1:17 pm, cheri j > wrote:
> I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
> Tea's wording
> exactly.
>
> http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...
>
> http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8
>
> Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
> If so , let us know.
>
> cjteas


Good catch, Cheri - looks like another internet charlatan.

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On 2007-05-16, pgwk > wrote:

> What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> charter, etc.

[...]
> I ask for two reasons. My first is that I had absolutely no problem
> with the AoT announcement. I didn't see it as commercial but
> informative. I immediately subscribed to the magazine, which arrived
> today, and I am delighted by it -- I lack expert knowledge of puehrs
> so for me it is very instructive. I do have problems with the SP
> stuff, though. So what is the distinction that makes AoT out of order
> but SP acceptable?


I was more bothered by the Steeping Pot ad also. I don't know why that
is - probably because I may be interested in checking out Art of Tea,
while I'm not particularly interested in what the Steeping Pot is
selling.

Also, the folks from the Art of Tea seemed genuinely interested in
engaging in dialogue, and not just promoting their magazine.

I think part of the reason that you didn't see as many posts complaining
about this thread is because it's MORE blatant - people who were
bothered by it probably reported it to the OP's ISP and / or google
groups, or wrote them off-list to complain. I wasn't quited bothered
enough to file a spam complaint since the group's charter isn't that
clear, but I did write the sender off-list to complain.

Another part of the reason is because the spam issue was already
discussed recently.

That said, I did reply to this thread, and suggest that we amend the
charter to be clearer.

My reading of the Google Groups TOS is that (in THIS particular case,
since the message was sent via Google Groups) the sender may be in the
wrong, even if they're not technically in violation of the group's
charter.

http://www.google.com/googlegroups/t...f_service.html
"you will not ... post messages that promote pyramid schemes, chain
letters or disruptive commercial messages or advertisements, or
anything else prohibited by the Group owner."

I guess the sticking point is whether the message is "disruptive" or
not.

w

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Default spam again (was The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories)

On May 16, 2:09 pm, Will Yardley >
wrote:
> Maybe it's time to revisit the group's charter... the current one is
> pretty minimal:
>
> http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/charter.html
>
> If there's agreement from the group, I think it might make sense to
> specifically limit commercial posts entirely, or at least clarify the
> policy on commercial posts, so that we don't have any ambiguity w/r/t
> posts like this, and the Art of Tea post.
>
> w


Charter or no charter, I think we can all agree that no one needs to
get their tea from anyone this unscrupulous.

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Default spam again (was The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories)

On May 16, 2:09 pm, Will Yardley >
wrote:
> Maybe it's time to revisit the group's charter... the current one is
> pretty minimal:
>
> http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/charter.html
>
> If there's agreement from the group, I think it might make sense to
> specifically limit commercial posts entirely, or at least clarify the
> policy on commercial posts, so that we don't have any ambiguity w/r/t
> posts like this, and the Art of Tea post.
>
> w


I don't see why it's an issue as long as it's related to the topic of
the group, and provides some sort of useful information. As a
consumer, I like to be informed of something I might be interested in.



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Default Commercial Posting. WAS: The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

Internet charlatans aside, how is any genuine and honest new tea vendor
supposed to make his/her presence known without posting a brief intro on
groups such as this ?

I may sound a little naive here, but not all new tea vendors are out to rip
us off. I also don't do frequent internet searches for new vendors that
may just happen to start up. I also personally have no issue with someone
making an honest living from a well managed and honestly conducted
business - whether it's online or bricks and mortar.

Whether we like the idea or not the internet IS a market place open for
commercial exploitation, some are honest and bone fide, some are crooks.
So, rather than jump on the toes of someone innocently trying to promote a
product or business that we as tea drinkers may actually benefit from,
perhaps we can work something out that allows relevant commercial posting to
this group.

A suggestion perhaps is that promoters of new businesses/products (tea
related of course) could use some form of ID or token in the subject line
which members who wish not to see commercial posts can use to filter them
out. I have seen ADV used in some groups.

Think about it, allowing something like this could actually work in our
favour. Anyone who is familiar with this group will know that if you try to
sell a dodgy product or promote a dodgy business he/she will be 'chewed' up
here. Therefore they are probably less likely to advertise their dodgy
enterprise on this group. Those that choose to do so then, would probably
least be worth a look.

Having said that, any commercial poster that does choose to post here should
also be prepared to be fairly and reasonably scrutinised by able-minded
members of this group.

We can not physically stop commercial posting on this group (correct me if I
am wrong), so perhaps we might be able to manage some commercial posting to
our advantage.

Anyway just a thought.

Cheers
Mal
Oz



"pgwk" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'm puzzled.........
>
> This Steeping Pot message is clearly "commercial" and comes from
> someone who has not to my knowledge ever before contributed to RFDT.
> It's basically spam.
>
> What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> charter, etc. The Steeping Pot's ad plus discount coupon offer seems a
> tad "commercial" but has generated no comparable response. Am I
> missing something about netiquette? Is there some personal background
> about The`Art of Tea? Is the Steeping Pot ploy approved of by the
> slammers of AoT?
>
> I ask for two reasons. My first is that I had absolutely no problem
> with the AoT announcement. I didn't see it as commercial but
> informative. I immediately subscribed to the magazine, which arrived
> today, and I am delighted by it -- I lack expert knowledge of puehrs
> so for me it is very instructive. I do have problems with the SP
> stuff, though. So what is the distinction that makes AoT out of order
> but SP acceptable?
>
> My second reason for raising the issue is a little more complex. It's
> tea publications versus tea products. I welcome every single reference
> to and, yes, selling message, about things worth reading about tea. I
> don't know what's available -- such as AoT -- and am information-
> eager. I do know where to go to find great products and don't need or
> want PP type stuff interrupting the style and content of RFDT. So I'd
> like to encourage pubs and discourage prods.
>
> Anyway, to the Art of Tea folks my message is Thanks -- I love it.
>
>
> On May 16, 1:17 pm, cheri j > wrote:
>
>> I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
>> Tea's wording
>> exactly.
>>
>> http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...
>>
>> http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8
>>
>> Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
>> If so , let us know.
>>
>> cjteas
>>
>> On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> > Hello Tea Drinkers,

>>
>> > I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
>> > The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

>>
>> >http://www.SteepingPot.com

>>
>> > At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
>> > accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
>> > accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
>> > monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
>> > and cooking with tea recipes.

>>

>
>> > As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
>> > with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
>> > enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
>> > expire 06/15/2007.

>>
>> > I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

>>
>> > Happy Steeping!

>>
>> > Desirea
>> > The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com- Hide quoted text -

>>
>> - Show quoted text -

>
>



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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 16, 5:22 pm, Will Yardley >
wrote:
> On 2007-05-16, pgwk > wrote:
>
>
>
> > What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> > about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> > pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> > charter, etc.

> [...]
> > I ask for two reasons. My first is that I had absolutely no problem
> > with the AoT announcement. I didn't see it as commercial but
> > informative. I immediately subscribed to the magazine, which arrived
> > today, and I am delighted by it -- I lack expert knowledge of puehrs
> > so for me it is very instructive. I do have problems with the SP
> > stuff, though. So what is the distinction that makes AoT out of order
> > but SP acceptable?

>
> I was more bothered by the Steeping Pot ad also. I don't know why that
> is - probably because I may be interested in checking out Art of Tea,
> while I'm not particularly interested in what the Steeping Pot is
> selling.
>
> Also, the folks from the Art of Tea seemed genuinely interested in
> engaging in dialogue, and not just promoting their magazine.
>
> I think part of the reason that you didn't see as many posts complaining
> about this thread is because it's MORE blatant - people who were
> bothered by it probably reported it to the OP's ISP and / or google
> groups, or wrote them off-list to complain. I wasn't quited bothered
> enough to file a spam complaint since the group's charter isn't that
> clear, but I did write the sender off-list to complain.
>
> Another part of the reason is because the spam issue was already
> discussed recently.
>
> That said, I did reply to this thread, and suggest that we amend the
> charter to be clearer.
>
> My reading of the Google Groups TOS is that (in THIS particular case,
> since the message was sent via Google Groups) the sender may be in the
> wrong, even if they're not technically in violation of the group's
> charter.
>
> http://www.google.com/googlegroups/t...f_service.html
> "you will not ... post messages that promote pyramid schemes, chain
> letters or disruptive commercial messages or advertisements, or
> anything else prohibited by the Group owner."
>
> I guess the sticking point is whether the message is "disruptive" or
> not.
>
> w


I'm extremely sorry - I didn't realize everyone would be so up tight
about my announcement. Why don't you simply delete it as if it never
happened?

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 16, 5:22 pm, Will Yardley >
wrote:
> On 2007-05-16, pgwk > wrote:
>
>
>
> > What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> > about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> > pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> > charter, etc.

> [...]
> > I ask for two reasons. My first is that I had absolutely no problem
> > with the AoT announcement. I didn't see it as commercial but
> > informative. I immediately subscribed to the magazine, which arrived
> > today, and I am delighted by it -- I lack expert knowledge of puehrs
> > so for me it is very instructive. I do have problems with the SP
> > stuff, though. So what is the distinction that makes AoT out of order
> > but SP acceptable?

>
> I was more bothered by the Steeping Pot ad also. I don't know why that
> is - probably because I may be interested in checking out Art of Tea,
> while I'm not particularly interested in what the Steeping Pot is
> selling.
>
> Also, the folks from the Art of Tea seemed genuinely interested in
> engaging in dialogue, and not just promoting their magazine.
>
> I think part of the reason that you didn't see as many posts complaining
> about this thread is because it's MORE blatant - people who were
> bothered by it probably reported it to the OP's ISP and / or google
> groups, or wrote them off-list to complain. I wasn't quited bothered
> enough to file a spam complaint since the group's charter isn't that
> clear, but I did write the sender off-list to complain.
>
> Another part of the reason is because the spam issue was already
> discussed recently.
>
> That said, I did reply to this thread, and suggest that we amend the
> charter to be clearer.
>
> My reading of the Google Groups TOS is that (in THIS particular case,
> since the message was sent via Google Groups) the sender may be in the
> wrong, even if they're not technically in violation of the group's
> charter.
>
> http://www.google.com/googlegroups/t...f_service.html
> "you will not ... post messages that promote pyramid schemes, chain
> letters or disruptive commercial messages or advertisements, or
> anything else prohibited by the Group owner."
>
> I guess the sticking point is whether the message is "disruptive" or
> not.
>
> w


Why is this post an issue, but no one is complaining about the Agape
posting?

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Default spam again (was The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories)



On 05/16/2007 19:57:38 Alex > wrote:

> Maybe it's time to revisit the group's charter... the current one is


>> pretty minimal:


>> http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/charter.html


>> If there's agreement from the group, I think it might make sense to
>> specifically limit commercial posts entirely, or at least clarify the
>> policy on commercial posts, so that we don't have any ambiguity w/r/t
>> posts like this, and the Art of Tea post.


>> w


> Charter or no charter, I think we can all agree that no one needs to get
> their tea from anyone this unscrupulous.




Alex,
Did I miss something, or did
a representative of this company
answer that Adagio supplies them,
and they therefore used Adagio's
text to describe the tea supplied?
That's not unscrupulous, I don't
think, unless you refer to another
episode of unscrupulousness. Of
course this doesn't answer to the
question of whether we ought to
tolerate advertising here. On that
I tend to agree with you, although
a one shot ad doesn't offend me.
I *don't* find the teas offered
by this company particularly
attractive.
Michael
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Default spam again (was The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories)

On May 16, 8:43 pm, The Steeping Pot > wrote:
> On May 16, 2:09 pm, Will Yardley >
> wrote:
>
> > Maybe it's time to revisit the group's charter... the current one is
> > pretty minimal:

>
> > http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/charter.html

>
> > If there's agreement from the group, I think it might make sense to
> > specifically limit commercial posts entirely, or at least clarify the
> > policy on commercial posts, so that we don't have any ambiguity w/r/t
> > posts like this, and the Art of Tea post.

>
> > w

>
> I don't see why it's an issue as long as it's related to the topic of
> the group, and provides some sort of useful information. As a
> consumer, I like to be informed of something I might be interested in.


It's an issue because you ripped off Adagio.



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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 16, 4:53 pm, pgwk > wrote:
> I'm puzzled.........
>
> What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> charter, etc. The Steeping Pot's ad plus discount coupon offer seems a
> tad "commercial" but has generated no comparable response. Am I
> missing something about netiquette? Is there some personal background
> about The`Art of Tea? Is the Steeping Pot ploy approved of by the
> slammers of AoT?


I challenged the "violation of the Charter" thing because I felt the
Charter was being misquoted and/or misinterpreted. The challenge was
in the interest of being factual and really had nothing to do with my
opinion.

My "opinion" is as follows, this is only my opinion and it has nothing
to do with the Charter or USENET netiquette:

If a "contributing" poster to this group throws out an occasional
blurb I really don't mind. If someone throws out a blurb that is
*specifically* related to the topic of a given thread I don't mind,
often this type is very useful.

When someone who has never *contributed* throws out an ad I do mind. I
guess to me the real metric is the motivation of the person over time.
If their only motivation for posting is profit then I really don't
care what they have to say. On the other hand if they are truly
passionate about tea, and sometimes post solely in the interest of
sharing knowledge, then I think they earn the right to the occasional
blurb. In other words, those who contribute are welcome, those who do
contribute are not.

In most cases I do not respond to "blatant" ads from non-contributors
because to do so only gives them more buzz and bandwidth. I personally
didnt respond to the SP post because it was a blatant ad from someone
who has never contributed except with profit as a motive. To keep
their thread alive only rewards them and I choose not to do that. I
suspect that many old-timers feel the same way which is probably why
you didn't see a flurry of posts. Any buzz is good buzz etc.

The Art of Tea blurb was acceptable in my opinion. The SP ad was not.
Probably the only reason the AoT generated so much controversy was
because it was indeed something of interest to many members of the
group, but some contributors objected because they have an aversion to
anything even remotely commercial. Blatant ads seldom generate that
much buzz. Actually, I now applaud AoT for their efforts, even though
I had reservations early on, I sincerely believe they will improve and
refine their publication over time. To have such a resource in English
is fantastic, I hope more publishers will follow this example. On the
other hand, shops like SP are a dime a dozen, if they are depending on
Adagio for their tea they have nothing of interest to me. If I want
Adagio tea, I will simply go to Adagio........

Mike
http://www.pu-erh.net


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This is USENET. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Commercial
postings are implicity prohibited in the discussion newsgroups. We
don't have to admend the Charter for anything. The advertizers start
their own .marketplace groups where they explicity state commercial
posts are allowed.

Jim

PS I'm still working on proving what I thought everybody knew.

On May 16, 12:09 pm, Will Yardley >
wrote:
> Maybe it's time to revisit the group's charter... the current one is
> pretty minimal:
>
> http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/charter.html
>
> If there's agreement from the group, I think it might make sense to
> specifically limit commercial posts entirely, or at least clarify the
> policy on commercial posts, so that we don't have any ambiguity w/r/t
> posts like this, and the Art of Tea post.
>
> w



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On May 16, 10:13 pm, "Mal from Oz" > wrote:
> Internet charlatans aside, how is any genuine and honest new tea vendor
> supposed to make his/her presence known without posting a brief intro on
> groups such as this ?
>
> I may sound a little naive here, but not all new tea vendors are out to rip
> us off. I also don't do frequent internet searches for new vendors that
> may just happen to start up. I also personally have no issue with someone
> making an honest living from a well managed and honestly conducted
> business - whether it's online or bricks and mortar.
>
> Whether we like the idea or not the internet IS a market place open for
> commercial exploitation, some are honest and bone fide, some are crooks.
> So, rather than jump on the toes of someone innocently trying to promote a
> product or business that we as tea drinkers may actually benefit from,
> perhaps we can work something out that allows relevant commercial posting to
> this group.
>
> A suggestion perhaps is that promoters of new businesses/products (tea
> related of course) could use some form of ID or token in the subject line
> which members who wish not to see commercial posts can use to filter them
> out. I have seen ADV used in some groups.
>
> Think about it, allowing something like this could actually work in our
> favour. Anyone who is familiar with this group will know that if you try to
> sell a dodgy product or promote a dodgy business he/she will be 'chewed' up
> here. Therefore they are probably less likely to advertise their dodgy
> enterprise on this group. Those that choose to do so then, would probably
> least be worth a look.
>
> Having said that, any commercial poster that does choose to post here should
> also be prepared to be fairly and reasonably scrutinised by able-minded
> members of this group.
>
> We can not physically stop commercial posting on this group (correct me if I
> am wrong), so perhaps we might be able to manage some commercial posting to
> our advantage.
>
> Anyway just a thought.
>
> Cheers
> Mal
> Oz
>
> "pgwk" > wrote in message
>
> oups.com...
>
>
>
> > I'm puzzled.........

>
> > This Steeping Pot message is clearly "commercial" and comes from
> > someone who has not to my knowledge ever before contributed to RFDT.
> > It's basically spam.

>
> > What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> > about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> > pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> > charter, etc. The Steeping Pot's ad plus discount coupon offer seems a
> > tad "commercial" but has generated no comparable response. Am I
> > missing something about netiquette? Is there some personal background
> > about The`Art of Tea? Is the Steeping Pot ploy approved of by the
> > slammers of AoT?

>
> > I ask for two reasons. My first is that I had absolutely no problem
> > with the AoT announcement. I didn't see it as commercial but
> > informative. I immediately subscribed to the magazine, which arrived
> > today, and I am delighted by it -- I lack expert knowledge of puehrs
> > so for me it is very instructive. I do have problems with the SP
> > stuff, though. So what is the distinction that makes AoT out of order
> > but SP acceptable?

>
> > My second reason for raising the issue is a little more complex. It's
> > tea publications versus tea products. I welcome every single reference
> > to and, yes, selling message, about things worth reading about tea. I
> > don't know what's available -- such as AoT -- and am information-
> > eager. I do know where to go to find great products and don't need or
> > want PP type stuff interrupting the style and content of RFDT. So I'd
> > like to encourage pubs and discourage prods.

>
> > Anyway, to the Art of Tea folks my message is Thanks -- I love it.

>
> > On May 16, 1:17 pm, cheri j > wrote:

>
> >> I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
> >> Tea's wording
> >> exactly.

>
> >>http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...

>
> >>http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8

>
> >> Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
> >> If so , let us know.

>
> >> cjteas

>
> >> On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:

>
> >> > Hello Tea Drinkers,

>
> >> > I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
> >> > The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

>
> >> >http://www.SteepingPot.com

>
> >> > At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
> >> > accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
> >> > accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
> >> > monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
> >> > and cooking with tea recipes.

>
> >> > As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
> >> > with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
> >> > enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
> >> > expire 06/15/2007.

>
> >> > I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

>
> >> > Happy Steeping!

>
> >> > Desirea
> >> > The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com-Hide quoted text -

>
> >> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

>
> - Show quoted text -


Thank you! I have no intentions on trying to rip people off or doing
anything ill manner. If anyone wants to ask me anything about The
Steeping Pot, I have no problems in responding. I started this
business because I love tea. It's a hobby for me. If you live in my
area - I'm not above sharing a free pot of tea with anyone. That's
why I do this. I give away more of my tea than I sell it. Why?
Because I love seeing the looks on peoples faces when they taste and
smell the tea for the first time - especially if they've only had
supermarket tea bags before. I'm a people pleaser - that's just how I
am.

I was not prepared to be so ridiculed for making a simple announcement
and offering everyone a coupon - I guess that was me just being
naive. Forgive me for not expecting people to be so rude. The only
reason I thought it would be ok to post here was b/c of the posting I
saw for Agape. There was no backlash, so I didn't think it would be a
problem since the posting was tea related and relevant to the group.
Forgive me for not searching through the entire group postings to find
whenever it was that this was discussed before.

I don't see how anyone starting a new business can gain any kind of
brand awareness if they don't use mediums like this. If I weren't the
owner of the owner of The Steeping Pot and simply posted a message
about the store as a consumer, none of you would have had an issue
with that. That's what I don't understand. Why must there be such a
conceptual difference between the two situations? I could have done
this the way most marketers do viral marketing and pretended to be a
general consumer, but I'm not comfortable with that. I prefer to take
the honest approach and offer some sort of incentive such as a
coupon.

At this point, I don't care if I make any money. I'm doing something
that I love in the only way I know how, and maybe one day I'll own a
cafe where people can get real gourmet tea perfectly steeped in a
relaxed and comfortable setting. That's all I want.

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On May 16, 4:53 pm, pgwk > wrote:
> I'm puzzled.........
>
> What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> charter, etc. The Steeping Pot's ad plus discount coupon offer seems a
> tad "commercial" but has generated no comparable response. Am I
> missing something about netiquette? Is there some personal background
> about The`Art of Tea? Is the Steeping Pot ploy approved of by the
> slammers of AoT?


I challenged the "violation of the Charter" thing because I felt the
Charter was being misquoted and/or misinterpreted. The challenge was
in the interest of being factual and really had nothing to do with my
opinion.

My "opinion" is as follows, this is only my opinion and it has nothing
to do with the Charter or USENET netiquette:

If a "contributing" poster to this group throws out an occasional
blurb I really don't mind. If someone throws out a blurb that is
*specifically* related to the topic of a given thread I don't mind,
often this type is very useful.

When someone who has never *contributed* throws out an ad I do mind. I
guess to me the real metric is the motivation of the person over time.
If their only motivation for posting is profit then I really don't
care what they have to say. On the other hand if they are truly
passionate about tea, and sometimes post solely in the interest of
sharing knowledge, then I think they earn the right to the occasional
blurb. In other words, those who contribute are welcome, those who do
contribute are not.

In most cases I do not respond to "blatant" ads from non-contributors
because to do so only gives them more buzz and bandwidth. I personally
didnt respond to the SP post because it was a blatant ad from someone
who has never contributed except with profit as a motive. To keep
their thread alive only rewards them and I choose not to do that. I
suspect that many old-timers feel the same way which is probably why
you didn't see a flurry of posts. Any buzz is good buzz etc.

The Art of Tea blurb was acceptable in my opinion. The SP ad was not.
Probably the only reason the AoT generated so much controversy was
because it was indeed something of interest to many members of the
group, but some contributors objected because they have an aversion to
anything even remotely commercial. Blatant ads seldom generate that
much buzz. Actually, I now applaud AoT for their efforts, even though
I had reservations early on, I sincerely believe they will improve and
refine their publication over time. To have such a resource in English
is fantastic, I hope more publishers will follow this example. On the
other hand, shops like SP are a dime a dozen, if they are depending on
Adagio for their tea they have nothing of interest to me. If I want
Adagio tea, I will simply go to Adagio........

Mike
http://www.pu-erh.net


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Will Yardley > wrote:
>Maybe it's time to revisit the group's charter... the current one is
>pretty minimal:
>
> http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/charter.html
>
>If there's agreement from the group, I think it might make sense to
>specifically limit commercial posts entirely, or at least clarify the
>policy on commercial posts, so that we don't have any ambiguity w/r/t
>posts like this, and the Art of Tea post.


I would support that.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


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pgwk > wrote:
>What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
>about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
>pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
>charter, etc. The Steeping Pot's ad plus discount coupon offer seems a
>tad "commercial" but has generated no comparable response. Am I
>missing something about netiquette? Is there some personal background
>about The`Art of Tea? Is the Steeping Pot ploy approved of by the
>slammers of AoT?


No, the Steeping Pot's ad deserves slamming even more. And yes, I think
this sort of thing is kind of offensive and I won't buy from companies
that do this sort of thing.

It's one thing to hang out on Usenet and answer questions and have a
reference to the web site in your .signature... it's quite a different
thing to post messages pointing people at catalougues and advertising
flyers. Very bad form.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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Mal from Oz > wrote:
>Internet charlatans aside, how is any genuine and honest new tea vendor
>supposed to make his/her presence known without posting a brief intro on
>groups such as this ?


A brief intro is different than an advertisement.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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> wrote:
>
>Why is this post an issue, but no one is complaining about the Agape
>posting?


Possibly because someone got annoyed enough about the Agape posting to
issue a forged cancel on it, so it didn't propagate too far to begin with.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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On May 17, 5:51 am, Michael Plant > wrote:
> On 05/16/2007 19:57:38 Alex > wrote:
>
> > Maybe it's time to revisit the group's charter... the current one is
> >> pretty minimal:
> >>http://pages.ripco.net/~c4ha2na9/tea/charter.html
> >> If there's agreement from the group, I think it might make sense to
> >> specifically limit commercial posts entirely, or at least clarify the
> >> policy on commercial posts, so that we don't have any ambiguity w/r/t
> >> posts like this, and the Art of Tea post.
> >> w

> > Charter or no charter, I think we can all agree that no one needs to get
> > their tea from anyone this unscrupulous.

>
> Alex,
> Did I miss something, or did
> a representative of this company
> answer that Adagio supplies them,
> and they therefore used Adagio's
> text to describe the tea supplied?
> That's not unscrupulous, I don't
> think, unless you refer to another
> episode of unscrupulousness. Of
> course this doesn't answer to the
> question of whether we ought to
> tolerate advertising here. On that
> I tend to agree with you, although
> a one shot ad doesn't offend me.
> I *don't* find the teas offered
> by this company particularly
> attractive.
> Michael


Very sorry to everyone - I missed that in the shuffle. That's really
embarassing. I still think the ad was intrusive, and having been
reading RFDT for about a year, I've come to find the chipper tone of
some of our occasional advertisers very grating. Having said that, I
don't object to commercial posting as long as it fits Mike's
guidelines, and I should add that I've found my primary suppliers
mainly through RFDT. If one of the regular posters started selling
tea or wrote a book or an article I would want to know about it, and I
would assume that they would let us know without being pushy, as I
think the Art of Tea person did. I strongly object to shilling,
stealing, and the practice of some vendors (teacuppa.com springs to
mind) of chiming in to unrelated discussions with pitches for their
product.

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On May 17, 1:39 pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> pgwk > wrote:
> >What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> >about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> >pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> >charter, etc. The Steeping Pot's ad plus discount coupon offer seems a
> >tad "commercial" but has generated no comparable response. Am I
> >missing something about netiquette? Is there some personal background
> >about The`Art of Tea? Is the Steeping Pot ploy approved of by the
> >slammers of AoT?

>
> No, the Steeping Pot's ad deserves slamming even more. And yes, I think
> this sort of thing is kind of offensive and I won't buy from companies
> that do this sort of thing.
>
> It's one thing to hang out on Usenet and answer questions and have a
> reference to the web site in your .signature... it's quite a different
> thing to post messages pointing people at catalougues and advertising
> flyers. Very bad form.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


Thank you for your comments. I didn't realize it was something that
so many would take offense to. Live and learn I guess.

The only reason I hadn't participated before is b/c I didn't know this
group existed. As a consumer, I'm new to groups in general. I'm a
member now, and fully plan on being involved without the intention of
pushing my products. I figured the posting was harmless b/c I didn't
try to trick anyone into reading it with a fake subject line - it was
simply an announcement.

If you have any questions or any further comments about my posting,
please send them directly to me. I don't see the need to continue
bashing me for one mistake. I had to ill intent, and I am very sorry.

Desirea



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On May 17, 3:03 pm, The Steeping Pot > wrote:
[...]
> I had to ill intent, and I am very sorry.
>
> Desirea


I, for one, can accept this. I look forward to your participation in
our threads. Please forgive us if we seem overly aggressive, but many
good newsgroups have been ruined because commercial posts took over
the group. As you can see, we wont allow that to happen here. Many of
us are quite protective of our passion. Again, we welcome your
participation.....

Mike
http://www.pu-erh.net

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On May 17, 1:39 pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> pgwk > wrote:
> >What puzzles me is that all the brou-haha -- and over 50 messages --
> >about the Art of Tea announcement of its second issue generated some
> >pretty virulent attacks on commercial misuse of USENET, violation of
> >charter, etc. The Steeping Pot's ad plus discount coupon offer seems a
> >tad "commercial" but has generated no comparable response. Am I
> >missing something about netiquette? Is there some personal background
> >about The`Art of Tea? Is the Steeping Pot ploy approved of by the
> >slammers of AoT?

>
> No, the Steeping Pot's ad deserves slamming even more. And yes, I think
> this sort of thing is kind of offensive and I won't buy from companies
> that do this sort of thing.
>
> It's one thing to hang out on Usenet and answer questions and have a
> reference to the web site in your .signature... it's quite a different
> thing to post messages pointing people at catalougues and advertising
> flyers. Very bad form.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


Thank you for your comments. I didn't realize it was something that
so many would take offense to. Live and learn I guess.

The only reason I hadn't participated before is b/c I didn't know
this
group existed. As a consumer, I'm new to groups in general. I'm a
member now, and fully plan on being involved without the intention of
pushing my products. I figured the posting was harmless b/c I didn't
try to trick anyone into reading it with a fake subject line - it was
simply an announcement.


If you have any questions or any further comments about my posting,
please send them directly to me. I don't see the need to continue
bashing me for one mistake. I had no ill intent, and I am very
sorry.


Desirea



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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

Mike Petro wrote:

> On May 17, 3:03 pm, The Steeping Pot > wrote:
> [...]
> > I had to ill intent, and I am very sorry.
> >
> > Desirea

>
> I, for one, can accept this. I look forward to your participation in
> our threads. Please forgive us if we seem overly aggressive, but many
> good newsgroups have been ruined because commercial posts took over
> the group. As you can see, we wont allow that to happen here. Many of
> us are quite protective of our passion. Again, we welcome your
> participation.....
>
> Mike
> http://www.pu-erh.net


Desirae,
I think, most people in this group understand your lack of bad
intentions from your honest reactions. As Mike states, there is a
lurking danger of commercial posts destroying usefulness of a group
through spamming. RFDT always had commercial posts in some form or
another, but the amount is fortunatly very minimal.
I second Scott Dorsey's opinion to put a website reference and possibly
shop name in your signature and participate in the group as an active
member. While this is not an obstrusive advertisement, people in this
group will probably check out your site if they feel you have a genuine
interest and some knowledge about tea.
So, don't be scared off by this group, people are just protective as
Mike stated above.

--

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On May 16, 1:22 pm, The Steeping Pot > wrote:
> On May 16, 1:17 pm, cheri j > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
> > Tea's wording
> > exactly.

>
> >http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...

>
> >http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8

>
> > Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
> > If so , let us know.

>
> > cjteas

>
> > On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:

>
> > > Hello Tea Drinkers,

>
> > > I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
> > > The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

>
> > >http://www.SteepingPot.com

>
> > > At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
> > > accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
> > > accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
> > > monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
> > > and cooking with tea recipes.

>
> > > As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
> > > with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
> > > enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
> > > expire 06/15/2007.

>
> > > I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

>
> > > Happy Steeping!

>
> > > Desirea
> > > The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com-Hide quoted text -

>
> > - Show quoted text -

>
> Adagio is one of our wholesale tea suppliers. That particular tea is
> their tea, so you will see some similarities throughout the site. We
> are adding more tea varieties every month from multiple suppliers, so
> it's not an exact replica of their sites content.
>
> Desirea- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


Plagiarism is a despicable offense. Try spell and grammar checking
your
site, as well.
Had you bothered to actually read some of the recent posts on this
board you
could have known what a hot topic self-promotion is recently.
It is actually inconceivable to me, as a writer, that Adagio would
permit
such a competetive "rip-off". As Mike points out, (paraphrased) "why
shop with you for Adagio Teas when you can shop at Adagio?".
"Tea-Mail Yahoo Groups" which is more geared to recipes and tea
parties and
allows advertising one Wednesday a month is probably more to your
liking and your audience
and may give you greater support than you'll find here.
You see, you didn't post as a consumer. You posted to advertise. You
say you want to take an honest approach and yet you do not credit
Adagio for their marketting work that you stole for your web site.
Frankly, I think it's Adagio that deserves an apology and a check, for
that matter, since they did so much of your work for you. And, if, as
you say, you're not in it for the money, why have a tea business web
site or post about it here, at all?
I must agree with Scott - VERY bad form.

Shen

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 17, 11:51 am, Shen > wrote:
> On May 16, 1:22 pm, The Steeping Pot > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On May 16, 1:17 pm, cheri j > wrote:

>
> > > I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
> > > Tea's wording
> > > exactly.

>
> > >http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...

>
> > >http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8

>
> > > Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
> > > If so , let us know.

>
> > > cjteas

>
> > > On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:

>
> > > > Hello Tea Drinkers,

>
> > > > I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
> > > > The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

>
> > > >http://www.SteepingPot.com

>
> > > > At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
> > > > accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
> > > > accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
> > > > monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
> > > > and cooking with tea recipes.

>
> > > > As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
> > > > with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
> > > > enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
> > > > expire 06/15/2007.

>
> > > > I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

>
> > > > Happy Steeping!

>
> > > > Desirea
> > > > The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com-Hidequoted text -

>
> > > - Show quoted text -

>
> > Adagio is one of our wholesale tea suppliers. That particular tea is
> > their tea, so you will see some similarities throughout the site. We
> > are adding more tea varieties every month from multiple suppliers, so
> > it's not an exact replica of their sites content.

>
> > Desirea- Hide quoted text -

>
> > - Show quoted text -

>
> Plagiarism is a despicable offense. Try spell and grammar checking
> your
> site, as well.
> Had you bothered to actually read some of the recent posts on this
> board you
> could have known what a hot topic self-promotion is recently.
> It is actually inconceivable to me, as a writer, that Adagio would
> permit
> such a competetive "rip-off". As Mike points out, (paraphrased) "why
> shop with you for Adagio Teas when you can shop at Adagio?".
> "Tea-Mail Yahoo Groups" which is more geared to recipes and tea
> parties and
> allows advertising one Wednesday a month is probably more to your
> liking and your audience
> and may give you greater support than you'll find here.
> You see, you didn't post as a consumer. You posted to advertise. You
> say you want to take an honest approach and yet you do not credit
> Adagio for their marketting work that you stole for your web site.
> Frankly, I think it's Adagio that deserves an apology and a check, for
> that matter, since they did so much of your work for you. And, if, as
> you say, you're not in it for the money, why have a tea business web
> site or post about it here, at all?
> I must agree with Scott - VERY bad form.
>
> Shen



This is a quote from Christine (aka "Xine"), an Adagio representative:

"When other companies- especially smaller ones- use our images, we
don't view it as a copyright issues, but rather a form of flattery. It
is costly to get really good pictures of your product if you don't
have a photographer, graphic designer, etc or any of that experience.

They're stepping their bounds if the perspective customer believes
that they are ordering directly from the Adagio site or in cases when
they believe that they are getting Adagio teas through a reseller but
get something else of lower quality, or something else."

So, they seem to be okay with this. I personally think Adagio is
taking this a bit too lightly, but it's not my call. I think people
who see your site and recognize some things as copied from Adagio's
site will think less of your integrity as a vendor, which is perhaps
the most important thing to have in the tea business. So I think, for
your sake, it would be better to come up with your own descriptions.
I also thought it was odd that you have some items with greatly
exaggerated list prices, which are conveniently crossed out and
replaced by your discount prices, which are the same prices Adagio
offers.

-Brent



  #31 (permalink)   Report Post  
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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

The Steeping Pot > wrote:
>The only reason I hadn't participated before is b/c I didn't know this
>group existed. As a consumer, I'm new to groups in general. I'm a
>member now, and fully plan on being involved without the intention of
>pushing my products. I figured the posting was harmless b/c I didn't
>try to trick anyone into reading it with a fake subject line - it was
>simply an announcement.


It's more google's fault than yours. Google dumps users onto Usenet
without explaining to them what it is, in fact they seem to go out of
their way to make it look like it's some kind of proprietary web board
thing that they run, when in fact it predates Google's existence by
nearly two decades and runs on 70,000 cooperative servers around the world.

If you had started reading news with a conventional newsreader, it would
have first dropped you into the news.announce.newusers group and forced
you to read the introductory material there before allowing you to do
anything else. Google does not do this, but that doesn't mean you can't
do it yourself on your own initiative.

Because Usenet is run by so many different folks on their own servers all
over the world, commercial use is strongly discouraged because all of the
various folks running servers would be subsidizing your advertising. Google
sadly not only does not explain this but doesn't explain the background
behind it.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
  #32 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to rec.food.drink.tea
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Posts: 509
Default spam again (was The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories)



>> Alex, Did I miss something, or did a representative of this company
>> answer that Adagio supplies them, and they therefore used Adagio's text
>> to describe the tea supplied? That's not unscrupulous, I don't think,
>> unless you refer to another episode of unscrupulousness. Of course this
>> doesn't answer to the question of whether we ought to tolerate
>> advertising here. On that I tend to agree with you, although a one shot
>> ad doesn't offend me. I *don't* find the teas offered by this company
>> particularly attractive. Michael


> Very sorry to everyone - I missed that in the shuffle. That's really
> embarassing. I still think the ad was intrusive, and having been reading
> RFDT for about a year, I've come to find the chipper tone of some of our
> occasional advertisers very grating. Having said that, I don't object to
> commercial posting as long as it fits Mike's guidelines, and I should add
> that I've found my primary suppliers mainly through RFDT. If one of the
> regular posters started selling tea or wrote a book or an article I would
> want to know about it, and I would assume that they would let us know
> without being pushy, as I think the Art of Tea person did. I strongly
> object to shilling, stealing, and the practice of some vendors
> (teacuppa.com springs to mind) of chiming in to unrelated discussions with
> pitches for their product.


No need to apologize and no need to be embarassed. I wish I
had a nickle for every time I missed something and responded
out of left field. I just wanted to be fair to the company.
Philosphically, Mike expressed my feelngs far better than
I could.

Michael

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 17, 7:58 pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> The Steeping Pot > wrote:
>
> >The only reason I hadn't participated before is b/c I didn't know this
> >group existed. As a consumer, I'm new to groups in general. I'm a
> >member now, and fully plan on being involved without the intention of
> >pushing my products. I figured the posting was harmless b/c I didn't
> >try to trick anyone into reading it with a fake subject line - it was
> >simply an announcement.

>
> It's more google's fault than yours. Google dumps users onto Usenet
> without explaining to them what it is, in fact they seem to go out of
> their way to make it look like it's some kind of proprietary web board
> thing that they run, when in fact it predates Google's existence by
> nearly two decades and runs on 70,000 cooperative servers around the world.
>
> If you had started reading news with a conventional newsreader, it would
> have first dropped you into the news.announce.newusers group and forced
> you to read the introductory material there before allowing you to do
> anything else. Google does not do this, but that doesn't mean you can't
> do it yourself on your own initiative.
>
> Because Usenet is run by so many different folks on their own servers all
> over the world, commercial use is strongly discouraged because all of the
> various folks running servers would be subsidizing your advertising. Google
> sadly not only does not explain this but doesn't explain the background
> behind it.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


I had no idea about any of this. I simply thought it was part of
Google Groups. I'll definitely read more into this. Thank you!

Desirea

  #34 (permalink)   Report Post  
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Posts: 46
Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

On May 17, 6:55 pm, Brent > wrote:
> On May 17, 11:51 am, Shen > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On May 16, 1:22 pm, The Steeping Pot > wrote:

>
> > > On May 16, 1:17 pm, cheri j > wrote:

>
> > > > I went to this sight and realized it seems to have "ripped off" Adagio
> > > > Tea's wording
> > > > exactly.

>
> > > >http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa...7e85ecfb7ef076...

>
> > > >http://shop.steepingpot.com/products.php?cat=8

>
> > > > Even the #8 is used. Are you an extension of Adagio Tea?
> > > > If so , let us know.

>
> > > > cjteas

>
> > > > On May 14, 4:20 pm, wrote:

>
> > > > > Hello Tea Drinkers,

>
> > > > > I would like to introduce you all to the latest in Gourmet Loose Tea.
> > > > > The Steeping Pot has recently launched their new website at:

>
> > > > >http://www.SteepingPot.com

>
> > > > > At The Steeping Pot you will find a variety of premium loose teas, and
> > > > > accessories that are considered the best of the best. Many of our
> > > > > accessories were even featured on HGTV I Want That! We also offer a
> > > > > monthly newsletter that features exclusive coupons, tea in the news,
> > > > > and cooking with tea recipes.

>
> > > > > As an added incentive to check us out, I'd like to present you all
> > > > > with an exclusive coupon for $5 off any order of $35 or more - simply
> > > > > enter the coupon code "teagroup" during checkout. This coupon will
> > > > > expire 06/15/2007.

>
> > > > > I hope you'll stop by and visit us soon.

>
> > > > > Happy Steeping!

>
> > > > > Desirea
> > > > > The Steeping Potwww.SteepingPot.com-Hidequotedtext -

>
> > > > - Show quoted text -

>
> > > Adagio is one of our wholesale tea suppliers. That particular tea is
> > > their tea, so you will see some similarities throughout the site. We
> > > are adding more tea varieties every month from multiple suppliers, so
> > > it's not an exact replica of their sites content.

>
> > > Desirea- Hide quoted text -

>
> > > - Show quoted text -

>
> > Plagiarism is a despicable offense. Try spell and grammar checking
> > your
> > site, as well.
> > Had you bothered to actually read some of the recent posts on this
> > board you
> > could have known what a hot topic self-promotion is recently.
> > It is actually inconceivable to me, as a writer, that Adagio would
> > permit
> > such a competetive "rip-off". As Mike points out, (paraphrased) "why
> > shop with you for Adagio Teas when you can shop at Adagio?".
> > "Tea-Mail Yahoo Groups" which is more geared to recipes and tea
> > parties and
> > allows advertising one Wednesday a month is probably more to your
> > liking and your audience
> > and may give you greater support than you'll find here.
> > You see, you didn't post as a consumer. You posted to advertise. You
> > say you want to take an honest approach and yet you do not credit
> > Adagio for their marketting work that you stole for your web site.
> > Frankly, I think it's Adagio that deserves an apology and a check, for
> > that matter, since they did so much of your work for you. And, if, as
> > you say, you're not in it for the money, why have a tea business web
> > site or post about it here, at all?
> > I must agree with Scott - VERY bad form.

>
> > Shen

>
> This is a quote from Christine (aka "Xine"), an Adagio representative:
>
> "When other companies- especially smaller ones- use our images, we
> don't view it as a copyright issues, but rather a form of flattery. It
> is costly to get really good pictures of your product if you don't
> have a photographer, graphic designer, etc or any of that experience.
>
> They're stepping their bounds if the perspective customer believes
> that they are ordering directly from the Adagio site or in cases when
> they believe that they are getting Adagio teas through a reseller but
> get something else of lower quality, or something else."
>
> So, they seem to be okay with this. I personally think Adagio is
> taking this a bit too lightly, but it's not my call. I think people
> who see your site and recognize some things as copied from Adagio's
> site will think less of your integrity as a vendor, which is perhaps
> the most important thing to have in the tea business. So I think, for
> your sake, it would be better to come up with your own descriptions.
> I also thought it was odd that you have some items with greatly
> exaggerated list prices, which are conveniently crossed out and
> replaced by your discount prices, which are the same prices Adagio
> offers.
>
> -Brent- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


Thank you - I really appreciate your comments. I have already made
some of your suggested changes. I'm not sure what to do about the
descriptions though since the descriptions are also used on my
labels.
I don't expect people who shop at Adagio to purchase tea from me - it
simply wouldn't make sense. I'm far too small to compete. As I
grow,
I hope to offer a wider variety of teas that adagio does not offer.
They are just my preferred vendor, so I started with them. I did get
permission from Adagio before I started to use their descriptions and
images, since I didn't want to break any laws in the process of
starting my company.

Desirea

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Default The Steeping Pot - Specialty Teas & Accessories

Scott,

It's true that Google gives you free run of the Usenet groups.
However, there is a "This is a Usenet group - learn more" link in the
upper right hand corner, right under "about this group" and "edit my
subscription". Short of forcing new users to read it (which isn't a
bad idea), google does provide the necessary information in a
prominent location.

I guess not everyone is like me (lucky for them ;-). I lurked for
months on this and other groups before making my first post. I believe
I learned a lot about Usenet etiquette in general and the
personalities involved in this group in particular. "Look before you
leap", I suppose.

Alan


On May 17, 4:58 pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> The Steeping Pot > wrote:
>
> >The only reason I hadn't participated before is b/c I didn't know this
> >group existed. As a consumer, I'm new to groups in general. I'm a
> >member now, and fully plan on being involved without the intention of
> >pushing my products. I figured the posting was harmless b/c I didn't
> >try to trick anyone into reading it with a fake subject line - it was
> >simply an announcement.

>
> It's more google's fault than yours. Google dumps users onto Usenet
> without explaining to them what it is, in fact they seem to go out of
> their way to make it look like it's some kind of proprietary web board
> thing that they run, when in fact it predates Google's existence by
> nearly two decades and runs on 70,000 cooperative servers around the world.
>
> If you had started reading news with a conventional newsreader, it would
> have first dropped you into the news.announce.newusers group and forced
> you to read the introductory material there before allowing you to do
> anything else. Google does not do this, but that doesn't mean you can't
> do it yourself on your own initiative.
>
> Because Usenet is run by so many different folks on their own servers all
> over the world, commercial use is strongly discouraged because all of the
> various folks running servers would be subsidizing your advertising. Google
> sadly not only does not explain this but doesn't explain the background
> behind it.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."



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